Fluid-power generator



w. J. RODGERSON FLUID POWER GENERATOR In van t or; Bad

XMJ gens-on gy 'WILLIAM JOHN RODGERSON, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

FLUID-POWER GENERATOR.

Application filed March 23, 1922. Serial No. 546,054.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, XVILLIAM JOHN Rooennson, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Toronto, in the county of York, in the Prov ince of Ontario, Canada, have invented cer-.

tain new and useful Improvements in Fluid-Power Generators, of which the following is the specification.

"My invention relates to improvements in I fluid power generators .and the object of the invention .is to devise a generator in which steam, ZtlI fllld products of combustlon may be combined 111 a mixed stream to develop to a maximum extent kinetic en ergy in which the products of combustion and atmospheric air are compressed without loss of heat and therefore of energy and in which the temperature of the'combined or mixed fluid is finally reduced to be suitable for impact upon a turbine vane or other member to be driven thereby and it consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as hereinafter more particularly explained. Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through my power generator. Fig.2 is a side elevation. v

the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding' parts in each figure. v i

1 indicates a furnace casing forming the base. of my generator and in'which is 10 cated an vo1l burner 2 of suitable typesup 35- pli-ed with oil through the pipe 3,. Thefu-rnace 1, is providedwith a liningof refractory material 5': and with a central opening 5 in its top wall. Bis a boiler casing supej ported upon the top ofthe furnace casing 1 and preferably tapered upward inform and provided with a lining 7 of refractory material. The lower end of the casing 6 is provided with an opening 8 concentric with the opening 5 of the furnace casing 1.

The upper end of the boiler casingfi is also provided with an opening 9. 10 is a triple coil, the members of which are wound concentrically one within the other and are supported centrally within the boiler casing 6. 11 is a watersupply pipe for feeding the coil 10. 12 is the outlet pipe. 13 is a steam receiver or collector to which the pipe 12 is connected so that the steam generated inthe coil is fed into the receiver 13 and collected therein 14; is a chimney member the m n p t of h ch is providedvi h the orifice 27.

an annular flange 15 secured to the top of low neck 16 forming the upward passage for the products of combustion which pass from the burner 2 upward from the furnacelcasing 1 and through the boiler coils 10 to the outlet opening 9. The upper member :of the chimney portion l i'is provided with'a horizontally extendin arm 17 which is gradually tapered as indicated at 18 and provided at its outerend with-an internally threaded recess 19 into. which a nozzle mem her 20 is screwed. 21 is an annular flange extending around the internally threaded opening 19. v The :upper portion of the flange 21 is provided with an enlargement 22 in the form of an elbow through which extendsa curved passage 23 terminating at its upper end in an internally threaded enlargement 24.

V v25 is a valve casing provided with an orifice 26 extending outward at one side of the curved passage 23. 27 is-an orifice also formed in the valve casing in alignment with the orifice 25 and at the opposite side of the curved passage 23'. The orifice 27 is slightly smaller than the orifice 26 an forms. a valve seat for the valve hereinafter described. 28 is .a pipe secured at one end in the orifice 27 and connected at its opposite end to the receiver 13 for con ducting. the steam'from the receiver to the interior of the valve casing 25. 29 is a cylindrical valve slidable within the orifice;

26 and adaptedto seat around the edge of I 30 is a nipple portion depending from the valve casing between the orifices 26 and 27 andv forming an upward extension to the curvedpassage 23.

31 is a gland for packing the valve 29. 32 is a lug extending upward fromthe valve casing 27 and provided with an orifice 33. 34v is a lug extending horizontally upward from the lower portion of the valve casing 25. 35 is a link pivoted at 36 upon the outer end ofthe arm 34. 37 is a rod slidably extending through the orifice 33 and pivotally connected at one end as indicated at 38 to the outer end of the line 35. Theopposite end of the rod. 37 is provided with an enlargement or nut- 39 be tweenwh'ich and the lug 32 extends a compression spring 40 adapted to hold the link 35 againstthe valve 29 to hold it in its s ting p l ionagaieet th tea p e s re passing through the pipe 28. 41 is an annular member secured to the flange 21. The open centre of the annular member 41 is provided on its outer face with a surrounding annular flange 42. i

43 is an annular recesst formed in the inner face of the annular member 41 concentric therewith and forming an annular steam space. The inner end of the central opening of th annular member 41 is provided with an inwardly tapered portion 44 surrounding the nozzle 20. 45 is a dis charge nozzle formed by a cylindrical portion 46 and outwardly diverging portion 1 47. 48 is an annular flange surrounding the cylindrical portion 46 in proximity to its inner end from the outer edge of which extends an inwardly directed cylindrical wall 49 which is secured to the annular member opening 50 formed in the wall 49.

41 so that the cylindrical portion 46 is in axial alignment with the centre of the annular member 41.

It will be noted however that the central opening of the cylindrical portion 46 is slightly larger than the outer end of the central opening of the annular member 41 for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

50 is an air supply pipe secured in an The pipe 46 is provided with a control valve 51 in the wall of the chimney member 14 opposite to the nozzle 20. I form an opening 52 through which atmospheric air is adapted to pass, the flow being controlled by damper valve 53. 54 is an observation opening formed in the wall of the boiler casing 6.

Having described the principal parts involved in my invention I will now briefly describe the operation of the same.

Oil is conveyed under pressure to the burner 2 and ignited. The burner 2 serves to heat the coils 10 of the boiler, water being pumped into the coils 10 through the pipe 11 and converted into the steam by the heat generated from the burner 2. The steam so formed is then collected in the receiver 13 until the required pressure is acquired, such pressure being controlled by means of the compression spring holding the valve 29 seated against the outlet end of the pipe 28. The pressure of course extends through the pipe 28 against the opposing end of the valve 29 and when suflicient pressure has been generated in the receiver 13 to overcome the pressure of the spring 40 the valve 29 is carried off its seat permitting the steam to pass downward through the nipple 30, curved passage 23 into the annular steam space 43 so as to surround the inner portion of the nozzle 20 and is then directed outward in an annular stream through the annular opening formed between the inner tapered end of the portion 34 and the exterior periphery of the nozzle 50. Issuing at high velocity and passing the open end of the nozzle a vacuum is created due to a fall in pressure.

By this means an annular steam stream is formed which is projected outward from the nozzle 20 into the discharge nozzle thereby forming a tapered or flame-shaped vacuum space extending from the open end of the nozzle 20 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The steam then passes outward through the discharge nozzle 45. The vacuum formed as above described at the tip of the nozzle 20 serves to draw the prod nets of combustion upward from the furnace through the chimney member 14 and nozzle 20 and at the same time draws a stream of air through the opening 52 horizontally through the upper portion of the chimney member and through the nozzle 20. The products of combustion and air are drawn into the conical space formed by the steam as aforesaid and owing to the pressure of the steam converging around such space serves to compress the gases forming the products of combustion and the air mixed therewith as they combine with the steam stream. I

It will thus be seen that by this means the air and products of combustion are compressed without any loss of heat and therefore of energy.

As before noted the interior periphery of the cylindrical portion 46 is slightly larger than the interior periphery of the annular flange 28 permitting the steam to leap across the space between the outer end of the flange 28 and the inner end of the cylindrical portion 46 creating a partial vacuum in the annular space 5O so as to draw such extra air from the pipe for the purpose of modifying the temperature and velocity of the fluid entering the nozzle 45, this being controlled by means of the valve 51.

It will of course be understood that the cylindrical portion 46 may extend to any desired length corresponding to the amount of preexpansion desirable therein to suit any of the various classes of turbines or engines.

From this description it will be seen that I hav devised a very simple form of power generator adapted to utilize a combined or mixed stream of high pressure steam, gases forming products of combustion and atmospheric air in such a way as to produce a stream of maximum driving energy which may be impelled against the driving member at a temperature which will not be detrimental to such driving member.

What I claim as my invention is:

In a power generator, a furnace having a discharge outlet for the products of combustion, a steam boiler coacting therewith a steam receiver for receiving the steam lit? from the boiler, a nozzled chimney through which the products of combustion pass, a steam duct leading from the steam receiver to discharge in proximity to the nozzle, an

' annular member surrounding the nozzle having its interior periphery contracted to- Wards its inner end and having an annular recess formed in its inner face to receive the steam from the steam duet, means for raising the steam pressure Within the receiver to a predetermined point, and means for automatically discharging the steam through the steam duct when such predetermined pressure is reached.

WILLlAM J OHN RODGERSON. 

